To The Core

To The Core is an idle game with modest visual demands, and the measured frame rates for the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination reflect that reality. The data shows a system that delivers exceptionally high performance across all tested resolutions and settings, with the limiting factor shifting from the GPU at 4K to the CPU at 1080p. This analysis walks through the measured results, contextualizes them against rival components, and provides actionable settings guidance based solely on the provided benchmark data.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveals how the workload scales with pixel count. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 313 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 210 FPS, a reduction of 103 FPS, and then to 4K Low at 120 FPS, another 90 FPS lower. This steep decline indicates that even at Low settings, the GPU is becoming a significant factor as resolution increases, though the absolute numbers remain high enough for any display.

At Medium settings, the pattern is similar but with a different slope. The 1080p Medium result is 265 FPS, which falls to 178 FPS at 1440p and then to 102 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 32.8% from 1080p to 1440p and 42.7% from 1440p to 4K. This shows that the RTX 4060’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus start to feel the pressure of higher resolutions, though the game’s idle nature keeps frame rates well above playable thresholds.

The High settings row shows 229 FPS at 1080p, 154 FPS at 1440p, and 88 FPS at 4K. The scaling here is more linear, with each resolution step costing roughly 70-75 FPS. Ultra settings, which represent the heaviest load, produce 185 FPS at 1080p, 124 FPS at 1440p, and 71 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1440p and 4K at Ultra is 53 FPS, the smallest absolute drop among all settings, suggesting that the game’s Ultra preset introduces a fixed cost that becomes proportionally larger at lower resolutions.

The data indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is the primary limiter. The jump from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 128 FPS (313 to 185), while the same settings change at 4K is only 49 FPS (120 to 71). At 4K, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, as the frame rate differences between settings become more pronounced relative to the total. For players targeting 1440p, the system strikes a balance where neither component is completely dominant, but the GPU still has headroom to spare.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC. Its boost clock reaches 2460 MHz, and it features 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units. The memory subsystem consists of 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. These specifications place the GPU in the 61st percentile among all tested GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17639.

In the context of To The Core, the GPU’s role is less demanding than in typical AAA titles. The measured frame rates show that even at 4K Ultra, the combo maintains 71 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The GPU’s 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is more than sufficient for this idle game’s rendering needs. The RTX 4060’s 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores are present but likely underutilized, as the game’s visual effects do not appear to stress ray tracing or AI features.

The GPU’s nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon HD 7790 with an average score of 17666 (a 0.2% delta), the AMD Radeon 780M at 17588 (0.3% delta), and the AMD Radeon Pro 560 at 17551 (0.5% delta). These comparisons show that the RTX 4060 sits in a tightly contested performance band, yet in To The Core, its 8 GB VRAM and high boost clock allow it to handle 4K resolutions without dropping below 71 FPS even at Ultra settings. The memory clock of 2125 MHz (17 Gbps effective) provides enough bandwidth to feed the 128-bit bus, though the 4K results suggest that bandwidth is a limiting factor at the highest resolution.

At 1080p, the GPU is not the bottleneck; the CPU’s single-thread performance becomes the constraint. The RTX 4060’s frame rates at 1080p Low (313 FPS) and 1080p Ultra (185 FPS) show that the GPU can push well beyond refresh rates, but the CPU’s ability to feed frames caps the output. At 4K, however, the GPU’s pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s are taxed more heavily, and the frame rate drops become more attributable to the GPU’s raw throughput.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo achieves in To The Core?

A: The highest measured average is 313 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next highest is 265 FPS at 1080p Medium, followed by 229 FPS at 1080p High.

Q: Does the combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra?

A: Yes, the 4K Ultra preset produces an average of 71 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. The 4K Medium setting yields 102 FPS, and 4K High yields 88 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU’s benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F has an average benchmark score of 36945, which is nearly identical to the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 at 36938 (0% delta). The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D scores 37018, a -0.2% delta, and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 scores 37093, a -0.4% delta.

Q: What is the GPU’s percentile ranking among all tested GPUs?

A: The RTX 4060 falls in the 61st percentile. Its average benchmark score is 17639, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2302 and a PassMark G3D score of 19545.

Q: Is there a large performance gap between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: The gap is 86 FPS, with Low at 210 FPS and Ultra at 124 FPS. This is a 41% reduction, indicating that Ultra settings impose a significant load but still leave the system well above 60 FPS.

Q: Which resolution shows the smallest difference between Medium and High settings?

A: At 4K, Medium averages 102 FPS and High averages 88 FPS, a difference of 14 FPS. At 1080p, the difference is 36 FPS (265 vs 229), and at 1440p it is 24 FPS (178 vs 154).

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 1586 out of 2991 tested combos in To The Core. This places it in the 53rd percentile of all combinations, meaning roughly half of the tested systems perform better and half perform worse. The rank reflects the balanced nature of this pairing, where neither component is a top-tier performer but both are competent.

The CPU’s 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs (with an average benchmark score of 36945) indicates that the processor is above average, while the GPU’s 61st percentile (average score 17639) is more mid-range. The combo’s overall rank of 1586 suggests that the GPU’s lower percentile pulls the pairing down relative to systems with stronger graphics cards. However, in To The Core specifically, the measured frame rates show that this combo is more than adequate, with no result below 71 FPS even at the most demanding settings.

The ranking context is useful for understanding where this system sits in the broader landscape. With 2991 total combos, a rank of 1586 means there are 1405 combos that perform better and 1585 that perform worse. The data indicates that for a game like To The Core, which is not graphically intensive, this mid-pack ranking is sufficient to deliver a smooth experience at any resolution. The CPU’s strong single-thread score of 2872 in PassMark helps maintain high frame rates at lower resolutions, while the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM prevents out-of-memory issues at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides average FPS values for three resolutions and four settings, with only the Medium preset including minimum and maximum frame rates. At 1920x1080, the results are: Low at 313 FPS, Medium at 265 FPS (min 225, max 304), High at 229 FPS, and Ultra at 185 FPS. These numbers indicate that even the heaviest 1080p preset produces frame rates that exceed the refresh rate of most monitors.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low at 210 FPS, Medium at 178 FPS (min 151, max 205), High at 154 FPS, and Ultra at 124 FPS. The Medium setting’s minimum of 151 FPS shows that even in demanding scenes, the system stays well above 144 FPS, making this an ideal resolution for high-refresh-rate displays. The step from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 100 FPS at Low settings, but the absolute values remain high.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low at 120 FPS, Medium at 102 FPS (min 87, max 117), High at 88 FPS, and Ultra at 71 FPS. The Medium setting’s minimum of 87 FPS is the lowest measured frame rate in the entire dataset, but it still clears the 60 FPS threshold. The 4K results show a clear progression where each settings increase reduces the average by roughly 15-30 FPS, indicating that the GPU is the primary constraint at this resolution.

The Medium settings are the only ones with recorded minimum and maximum values, providing a glimpse into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the range from 225 to 304 FPS shows a spread of 79 FPS, suggesting some variance but not enough to cause stuttering. At 1440p Medium, the range is 151 to 205 FPS (54 FPS spread), and at 4K Medium, it is 87 to 117 FPS (30 FPS spread). The tightening range at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU becomes more consistently loaded, reducing the variance.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p displays with a 144 Hz refresh rate, the High preset at 229 FPS is more than sufficient, and even Ultra at 185 FPS exceeds the refresh rate. Players could choose Ultra for maximum visual quality without sacrificing smoothness, as the 185 FPS average leaves ample headroom.

For 1440p, the Medium preset at 178 FPS (min 151) is the best choice for 144 Hz monitors, as it provides a comfortable margin above the refresh rate. The High preset at 154 FPS is also viable, but the minimum frame rate of 151 FPS at Medium ensures that even the heaviest scenes stay above 144 FPS. Ultra at 124 FPS is suitable for 120 Hz displays, but for 144 Hz, Medium or High is preferable.

For 4K, the situation is different. The Ultra preset at 71 FPS is sufficient for 60 Hz displays, but for 120 Hz or 144 Hz panels, the Low preset at 120 FPS is the only option that comes close to matching the refresh rate. Medium at 102 FPS and High at 88 FPS are both above 60 FPS and would be good choices for standard 4K monitors. The data suggests that Medium at 4K (102 FPS) offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, as it delivers a frame rate that is 31 FPS higher than Ultra and only 18 FPS lower than Low.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot, offering a significant jump over Low in visual quality while maintaining frame rates that are 15-25% higher than High. The measured data shows that Medium is the only setting with recorded minimum and maximum values, indicating that it is the most commonly tested and likely the intended baseline. For players prioritizing frame rate, Low at any resolution provides the highest numbers, but the idle game genre benefits from higher visual settings without the risk of dropping below playable thresholds.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture with a 7 nm process from TSMC. Its base clock is 3.00 GHz with a boost clock of 4.00 GHz, and it has a 65 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3. The CPU supports DDR4 memory with dual-channel configuration, providing 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth, and it connects via PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes.

In To The Core, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p, where the frame rates are highest. The single-thread score of 2872 in PassMark indicates strong per-core performance, which is crucial for the game’s logic and physics calculations. The multithread score of 19236 shows that the 6-core, 12-thread configuration handles multi-threaded workloads competently, but the game likely relies more on single-thread performance given the high frame rates.

The CPU’s average benchmark score of 36945 places it in the 85th percentile, with nearest rivals including the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 (36938, 0% delta), AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (37018, -0.2% delta), and AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (37093, -0.4% delta). These rivals are within 0.5% of the 5600F’s score, indicating that the processor is well-positioned in its performance class.

At 1080p Low, the 313 FPS result suggests that the CPU is the limiting factor, as the GPU is capable of higher output but is constrained by the CPU’s ability to issue draw calls and process game state. The boost clock of 4.00 GHz and the 32 MB L3 cache help maintain high frame rates, but the data shows that at 1080p, the system is CPU-bound. At 4K, the CPU’s workload is relatively unchanged, but the GPU becomes the bottleneck, so the CPU’s performance is less critical.

The CPU’s 65 W TDP and 7 nm process node contribute to efficient operation, which is beneficial for sustained performance in long gaming sessions typical of idle games. The memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s is adequate for the game’s data requirements, and the dual-channel DDR4 support ensures that the CPU can access data quickly. Overall, the Ryzen 5 5600F provides a solid foundation for this combo, with enough single-thread performance to keep frame rates high at 1080p and enough cores to handle background tasks without impacting gameplay.